Redaccion
Bilbao celebrates this Sunday 725 years of history, an anniversary to «value the past of Bilbao» and project the future of the Villa with a character of «joint work and consensus». The day has passed between the City Hall and Plaza Circular, where a floral offering has taken place in front of the statue of Don Diego López de Haro, founder of the Villa, accompanied by traditional dances and music.
Presided over by the Mayor of Bilbao, Juan Mari Aburto, the anniversary celebration started under the rain with the raising of the flag, the emblem of the Villa since 1845 and officialized in November 2016, in Plaza Ernesto Erkoreka, next to the City Hall.
The entire municipal procession, with the distinctive medals of their position, along with dantzaris and txistularis, has carried out the official parade carrying the Flag of Bilbao to the center of Plaza Circular, where the statue of Don Diego López de Haro, founder of Bilbao, is located, and where several dozen citizens and tourists have accompanied the Municipal Corporation.
After the aurresku of honor and an ezpatadantza, with music from the Municipal Band of Txistularis, the floral offering has been carried out, which is offered each year in homage to the founder of Bilbao, and where the municipal procession, citizens, and visitors have placed red and white carnations, the colors of Bilbao.
Aburto has pointed out at the end of the celebration that «it is a moment to value the past of Bilbao», the history of the Villa, to take it as a starting point towards the future. «From what we are, and from what we have done, project ourselves into the future,» he emphasized.
He also highlighted «the transformative power of politics» and the «joint work, consensus, and politics of the City Council of Bilbao». «I believe it is a source of pride for everyone. Let’s learn from this situation so that the future is also a future of work, of working together, a future of consensus, a future in which politics continues to improve the lives of the people of Bilbao,» he added.
When asked how he would like the future of Bilbao to be, Aburto stated that he would like a city where «everyone can develop their life project, their personal or family project.» To achieve this, he also appealed to «learning from the past and joint work.»
«We have come this far through consensus, through agreements. And I believe it is time to value that. To value politics to work together, to achieve agreements, and to continue projecting ourselves towards the future,» he concluded.
COMMEMORATIVE EVENTS
Today’s event has been the closing of the activities programmed by the City Council to commemorate the 725 years of the Villa. Among them, the performances of the Gau Zuria Program that have taken place during the weekend, with more than 30 artistic interventions and two itinerant shows «that have dressed known urban landscapes of the city center with art, light, and technology,» as highlighted by the City Council.
This week, a special reception has also been held at the City Hall for the residents of the Villa carrying the name Bilbao as their first and second surnames. In total, the City Council has located 26 people with these surnames, ranging in age from 6 to 93 years old.
